Health economic outcomes in migraine: Impact of zolmitriptan

Migraine is a common, painful condition that negatively impacts on the quality of life of affected individuals. It also carries a large social and economic burden, particularly in terms of lost work/productivity. Effective therapies for migraine should safely reduce the severity of attacks so that patients can return to their normal activities as quickly as possible. Zolmitriptan is a highly selective orally active 5-HT1B/1D receptor agonist with peripheral and central activity, that has demonstrated good efficacy and tolerability in both short- and long-term trials in patients with migraine. In pharmacoeconomic analyses, zolmitriptan has been shown to reduce costs relative to placebo, reduce time lost from work and improve patient quality of life as assessed by migraine-specific measures of quality of life. Patients also report high satisfaction with zolmitriptan therapy. Therefore, zolmitriptan is an effective migraine therapy that efficiently improves patient outcomes.